Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord Guards His People
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
121 I ·look up [L raise my eyes] to the hills [C the hills surrounding Zion, the location of the Temple],
but where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth [Gen. 1].
3 He will not let ·you be defeated [L your feet be moved/slip].
He who ·guards [watches] you never sleeps.
4 He who ·guards [watches] Israel
never ·rests [sleeps] or ·sleeps [slumbers].
5 The Lord ·guards [watches] you.
The Lord is the shade ·that protects you from the sun [L at your hand, your right hand; 91:1].
6 The sun cannot ·hurt [L strike] you during the day,
and the moon cannot ·hurt [L strike] you at night.
7 The Lord will ·protect [guard; watch] you from all ·dangers [trouble; evil];
he will ·guard [watch] your life.
8 The Lord will ·guard [watch] you as you come and go,
both now and forever.
Jacob and Laban’s Treaty
43 Laban said to Jacob, “·These girls [L The daughters] are my daughters. ·Their children belong to me [L The sons are my sons], and ·these flocks are mine [L the flocks are my flocks]. Everything you see here belongs to me, but ·I can do nothing to keep [L what can I do about…?] my daughters and their children. 44 ·Let us make [L Come, let us cut] ·an agreement [a covenant/treaty; 6:18], and let ·us set up a pile of stones to remind us of it [L it be a witness between us].”
45 So Jacob took a large rock and set it ·up on its end [L as a pillar]. 46 ·He [L Jacob] told his ·relatives [L brothers] to gather rocks, so they took the rocks and ·piled them up [made a pile/mound/heap]; then they ·ate [feasted] beside the pile [C treaties were often celebrated by a feast]. 47 Laban named that place in his language A Pile to Remind Us [Jegar-sahadutha; C he spoke Aramaic], and Jacob called the place Galeed [C the Hebrew version of the Aramaic name].
48 Laban said to Jacob, “This ·pile of rocks [mound; heap] will ·remind us of the agreement [L be a witness] between us.” That is why the place was called ·A Pile to Remind Us [Galeed]. 49 It was also called Mizpah [C sounds like “watch” in Hebrew], because Laban said, “Let the Lord watch over us while we are ·separated [absent] from each other. 50 Remember that God is our witness even if no one else is around us. He will know if you ·harm [abuse] my daughters or ·marry [take] other women. 51 Here is the ·pile of rocks [mound; heap] that I have ·put [thrown up] between us and here is the ·rock I set up on end [pillar]. 52 This ·pile of rocks [mound; heap] and this ·rock set on end [pillar] will ·remind us of our agreement [L be a witness]. I will never go past this ·pile [mound; heap] to hurt you, and you must never come to my side of them to hurt me. 53 Let the God of Abraham, who is the God of Nahor and the God of their ·ancestors [fathers], ·punish either of us if we break this agreement [L judge between us].”
So Jacob made a promise ·in the name of the God whom his father Isaac worshiped [L by the fear of his father Isaac]. 54 Then Jacob ·killed an animal and offered it as [L offered] a sacrifice on the mountain, and he invited his ·relatives [L brothers] to share in the meal [31:46]. After they finished eating, they spent the night on the mountain. 55 Early the next morning Laban kissed his ·grandchildren [L sons] and his daughters and blessed them, and then he left to return ·home [L to his place].
Jacob Meets Esau
32 When Jacob also went his way, the ·angels [messengers] of God met him. 2 When he saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim [C sounds like “two camps” in Hebrew; a city in the hill country of Gilead; Josh. 13:26, 30].
A Worker Pleasing to God
14 ·Continue teaching [L Remind them of] these things, ·warning people [L solemnly testifying/declaring] in God’s presence not to ·argue [quarrel] about words. It ·does not help anyone [is good for nothing], and it ruins those who listen. 15 ·Make every effort [Do your best; Be diligent] to ·give [present] yourself to God as the kind of person he will approve. Be a worker who ·is not ashamed [or will not be shamed] and who ·uses the true teaching in the right way [correctly handles the true message/word of truth; or holds carefully to the true message/word of truth]. 16 Stay away from ·foolish, useless talk [godless/irreverent chatter; 1 Tim. 1:3–4; 4:7; 6:20], because that will lead people ·further away from God [into even more ungodliness]. 17 Their evil teaching will spread like ·a sickness inside the body [L gangrene]. Hymenaeus [1 Tim. 1:20] and Philetus are like that [C probably false teachers and opponents of Paul from Ephesus]. 18 They have ·left [strayed away from] the ·true teaching [truth], saying that the ·rising from the dead [resurrection] has already taken place, and so they are ·destroying [undermining; overturning] the faith of some people. 19 But God’s strong foundation continues to stand, ·sealed [inscribed; engraved] with these words: “The Lord knows those who belong to him [Num. 16:5],” and “Everyone who ·wants to belong to [L names the name of] the Lord must ·stop doing wrong [L turn away from wickedess/injustice].”
20 In a ·large house [wealthy household] there are not only ·things [vessels; dishes] made of gold and silver, but also ·things [vessels; dishes] made of wood and clay. Some things are used for ·special [honorable; noble] purposes, and others are made for ·ordinary [dishonorable; ignoble] jobs [C such as garbage or excrement]. 21 All who make themselves clean from ·evil [L these things; C the false teaching described in vv. 16–18] will be used for ·special [honorable; noble] purposes. They will be made holy, useful to the Master, ready to do any good work.
22 But ·run away from [flee] the ·evil desires [passions; desires] of youth. ·Try hard to live right and to have [L Pursue righteousness,] faith, love, and peace, together with those who ·trust in [L call upon] the Lord from pure hearts. 23 ·Stay away from [Avoid; Having nothing to do with] foolish and ·stupid [ignorant] ·arguments [controversies; speculation], because you know they ·grow into [breed; beget] quarrels. 24 And a ·servant [slave; bondservant] of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, a ·good [qualified; able] teacher, and patient. 25 ·The Lord’s servant must gently teach [L …gently instructing/correcting] those who ·disagree [are opponents]. Then ·maybe [perhaps] God will ·let them change their minds [L grant them repentance] ·so they can accept [L leading to knowledge of] the truth. 26 And they may ·wake up [come to their senses] and escape from the ·trap [snare] of the devil, who catches them to do ·what he wants [his will].
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